After Toni Christina Jenkins posted the receipt online last September, the Internet quickly assembled in support of the Red Lobster waitress, with coverage of her story and an online fundraiser called "Tips for Toni" that raised over $10,000. Now Barnes, who claims he never wrote the slur in the first place, is suing both Jenkins and Red Lobster for slandering his name and causing damage to his reputation.

Red Lobster released a statement after learning about the lawsuit:

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"As we shared before, it is against our policy to post guest information online. Our standard procedure is to suspend the employee involved with pay while we determine what happened. After the completion of a full investigation into this matter, Miss Jenkins returned to work. As we also shared, we were disgusted by the language used on this guest check as it has no place in our restaurant or anywhere else."

Barnes' mother, Sallyann, told WCBD that her son's reputation has been irreparably harmed, saying, "It's still all over the Internet. It is still affecting his life and all of our lives."